ST. JOHNSBURY — The Select Board has voted unanimously to ask Vermont State Police to keep its barracks in town, but an officer said it’s likely the office will move about 8 miles south to Barnet in several years.

The state police plans to consolidate the barracks in St. Johnsbury and Bradford into a new facility. If the project is placed on the fast track it will happen in about five years, Capt. Tim Clouatre said at a Select Board meeting this week.

“This isn’t anything that’s going to happen overnight,” he said.

Clouatre said troopers aren’t as tied to offices as they used to be because their cruisers have much of the equipment they need, including computers and video cameras, and they carry cell phones.

The consolidation isn’t expected to affect emergency response times because troopers will be assigned to patrol zones and many live in area towns.

“You’re still going to have very good service here,” he said. “My hope is that it is going to get better.”